This weeks destination, Le Marche, is on my list of places to explore and I’ve scheduled a visit later this year when I’ll be in Italy for 4 weeks. So expect lots more information on this region of Italy referred to as the next Tuscany (Lonely Planet)!

Why would I go?Le Marche offers beautiful coast and rustic hinterland with many spectacular ancient cities to be visited (think Urbino (pictured below) Ascoli Piceno and Macerata).The region also offers some magnificent national parks and reserves including the stunning Monti Sibillini. Mountains make up approximately 31% of the terrain with the remaining 69% being hills with the region being separated from most of the remainder of Italy by the Apennines.The combination of sea, hills and mountains provides great environments for sources of food too. Fred Plotkin in “Italy for the Gourmet Traveller” (a great read by the way) recommends the region for its superb seafood as well as excellent truffles, mushrooms, meats, olives, grapes and particularly cheeses.What would I see?Urbino, one of the highlights of the regionUrbino is just one of the highlights of Le Marche and is one of the best preserved and spectacular of the Italian hill towns. The entire city is walled so you will need to drop your car in one of the many car parks provided. Highlights of the town include the Palazzo Ducale, the Duomo and the Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista.Other highlights of any visit to Le Marche include (extract below from Marche Voyager):The provincial capital of Ascoli Piceno lies at the southern end of Le Marche. This beguiling old town is well worth at least an overnight stay. Its travertine-paved main square is one of the most beautiful in Italy.The administrative capital of Le Marche is Ancona, a city with less obvious attractions for the tourist. Give it time, however, and you may find you enjoy the salty charm of this bustling sea port. It’s also one of Italy’s principal ferry ports with boats to Croatia, Greece and Turkey.Another of the region’s provincial capitals, Pesaro is both an appealing seaside resort and a thriving commercial town. Good shops, fine beaches and great fish.Another of the region’s main centres is Macerata, a dignified town, famous for its annual outdoor opera festival and capital of the province of Macerata.The alluring hilltown of Fermo is the capital of the recently-created province of Fermo and boasts a fine historic centre and outstanding main square.Many of the smaller inland towns are also well worth visiting and most can make a good base for touring. These include , Cagli, Camerino, Cingoli, Jesi, Offida, Recanati and Sarnano.And remember to find time to enjoy the vineyards and wine of the Le Marche region too!

Italy, the home of the Slow Food Movement, provides a case in point of how it can work. From the Pink Apple of the Sibillini mountains and Alpine High Mountain Honeys to the cheeses of Piedmont and Basilicata’s traditional Materana mountain pezzente salami, such Italian specialties reflect the history and development - the unique culture - of their home regions. Italian consumers treasure and place a premium on such products.[...]

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

The Pink Apple of the Sibillini Mountains among the rich traditions and diversity of mountain cultures around the globe to protect

Mele Rosa (Pink Apples) of the Sibillini Mountains, are a native variety from a very limited territory in the Marche Region.They are richer in vitamins, pectin, antioxidants and polyphenols than other varieties

The Pink Apple of the Sibillini Mountains among the rich traditions and diversity of mountain cultures around the globe to protect

Mele Rosa (Pink Apples) of the Sibillini Mountains, are a native variety from a very limited territory in the Marche Region.They are richer in vitamins, pectin, antioxidants and polyphenols than other varieties

The town of Ascoli Piceno, in Le Marche Region Italy, a hidden treasure in a beautiful position surrounded by The Sibiline Mountains along the border with Umbria. The whole southern province of the Le Marche Region, for which Ascoli is the capital, offers spectacular views and a variety of landscapes of amazing beauty. [...]

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

Vita Italian Tours, a company specialized in personally guided tours of Italy within small groups, recommend Ascoli Piceno as the "hidden treasure" to discover in 2017

This secret pearl of Le Marche was, in the past, the village of the terracotta production. Known as the “Paese de li Cuccià” (Potters Village in local dialect), Massignano home the Terracotta Museum divided into two interesting sections for families: the “Domestic Use” and the “Whistles and Tobacco Pipes”.

Today you will discover Montefiore dell’Aso and its neighborhood in an article easy to read.

You are close to discover a wonderful territory situated between two preserved valleys of a charming rural landscape in the southern Le Marche Region with ancient villages full of history and interesting things suitable for families with children.

Carassai is a small Le Marche village that can offer a great tourist experience, unique in all the Piceno area. [...]

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Highlight: Carassai invites tourists and the vacationer to the pleasure of the “dolce far niente”(sweet doing nothing), to the enjoyment of the expanding time, to the intriguing awesomeness of the ancient time and to the ever-changing spectacle that nature offers us.

A couple of nights ago we had four - virtually consecutive - quakes arriving after about 9pm. None lasted more than a second or two. My mobile started ringing after the second one, as friends started…

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

Surviving in The Land of the Forgotten Earthquakes

Highlight: <<The aftershocks go on underground, shaking the foundations of the earth but believe me, they have their equivalent, above ground, in the minds and bodies of those of us who were lucky enough to survive. They affect how you live on a day-to-day basis, how you think about your future, how you eat and sleep. The list would stretch the length of the mountains here.>>

Today is the four-week anniversary of the two terrible seismic attacks that hit my little town, Sarnano, here in Central Italy, along with countless other communities across the region, on Wednesday…

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

Sarnano in the Land of the forgotten Earthquakes

The Best Highlight:<<Sarnano lies in the foothills of the Sibillini Mountains. They are home to wolves, wild boar, rare species of orchids, wild horses and so much more. Magnificent, usually snow-capped, I used to think they looked like great big shoulders that I could ‘lean’ on, that somehow supported me spiritually … now they hold inside them these terrible cauldrons of energy that get released in a biblical roaring fury of shaking and noise. We call them earthquakes. They do terrible things.>>

So you're planning a trip to Italy but you don't want to just see the famous tourist traps. You long to experience genuine Italian culture. Yet everywhere you look for tips, be it from websites, travel agents, or your well-traveled friends, they only talk about the same old places: Rome, Venice, Florence...Does the real Italy even exist any longer, you wonder?Indeed it does, and it's in full magical display in the fairy-tale hilltop towns. The places where time has stopped, where secret pasta recipes are passed through generations. Where flowers adorn centuries-old stone houses, and where locals know each other by name.Italy hides many hilltop towns like these, but the following ones are some of the most breathtaking: [...]

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Urbino comes first among 10 Italian Hilltop Towns You Have To See Before You Die by Huffingtonpost Australia

1. Urbino, birthplace of Raphael, the prodigious painter

It's here that one of the superstar painters of the Renaissance era was born. Raphael would go on to vie for glory with none other than Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. The town itself is a maze of tiny, steep alleys with great vistas from the top.

The beautifully located Ancona is a historic port, with delicious cuisine, cobble stone streets and a port hub to explore the Adriatic and the Mediterranean. This regional capital is located on the Adriatic Sea in the famous Le Marche region of central Italy. It is nestled between the slopes of Monte Astagno and Monte Conero and this position has helped the Syracuse settlers to defend themselves throughout history. [...]

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

The Best Way to promote Ancona in Le Marche, Italy: The Port Hub To Explore The Adriatic And The Mediterranean

Med Cruise Guide is an inspirational travel website about the most fascinating regions of the world – the Mediterranean!If the MCG's team says that Ancona is the Port Hub To Explore the Adriatic and The Med, we really must believe it. In this article Ancona is also an attractive town to explore with attractions, natural beauties, history and an incredible, favourable position to explore the central Italy.

Do organic wineries thrive in Italy? Yes, according to Donna Sozio’s “Italian Wine: Where to Sip and Savor the Best Organic Wine in Italy,” published in Organic Authority. Sozio underscores the prominence of this contemporary trend in the winemaking process. Organic winemaking is considered to be a celebrated spin on an age-old method. The article…

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From Le Marche the Best Organic Wine in Italy

Barone Pizzini is an ideal example of a winery at the forefront of organic winemaking. Pievalta goes a step further as a pioneer in biodynamic winemaking in Le Marche. Both are included in the article as example wineries that pursue organic principles. [...]

Even as the proprietor of a site called Undiscovered Italy, Ascoli Piceno – the southernmost province within Marche – was not particularly high on my list of must-visit Italian locales. Despite off-the-beaten-path cache, it’s simply not on the radar for many Americans. Luckily for me, I befriended a wine importer named Jack who specializes here because his family hails from the region. He also happens to own an apartment in the little hill town of Ripatransone that was, fortuitously, available for my family to use [...]

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

The Discovering of the Piceno Area in Le Marche by a US Blogger: Ripatransone and surroundings, wines and more

Each year, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee convenes to discuss which cultural and natural sites around the world merit recognition for their “outstanding value to humanity,” a status that affords them greater protections. Italy boasts a whopping 51 World Heritage sites—more than any other country in the world.Italy’s most celebrated UNESCO sites—Rome, Florence, Venice, and the Amalfi Coast—need no introduction. But Italy’s charm lies beyond these obvious places, which are saturated by visitors year-round. [...]

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

The National Geographic mentions Urbino in Le Marche among the Italy’s Lesser Known UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

For most, the term "Renaissance" engenders thoughts of Florence, Tuscany, and Umbria, but evidence of the cultural movement can be found throughout Italy. The small hilltop town of Urbino - nestled in the Marche between the Apennine Mountains and Adriatic Sea—was one of the most significant cultural centers of the Renaissance in the 15th century.

The patron behind Urbino’s flourishing arts and culture scene was Federico da Montefeltro, a brilliant military leader, intellect, and lover of the arts. Montefeltro commissioned the magnificent Palazzo Ducale, one of the most beautiful examples of Renaissance palaces in Italy. The palace has since been converted into the National Gallery of the Marche and houses the works of Renaissance artists.

Palazzo Ducale is the main attraction in town, but a visit is not complete without seeing the birthplace of one of the most celebrated painters and architects of the High Renaissance, Raphael. The home’s interior is bare but quaint.

Are your Christmas traditions revolving around indoor trees (real and plastic) and a plump, bearded man sliding down chimneys? Here in Le Marche, in Central Italy the old tradition involve a simple or complex nativity scene and an old woman flying with a broom. [...]

In Le Marche, La Vigilia on 24th December has an equal importance to Christmas, and is celebrated with a huge feast of at least 7 courses that usually includes fish. A typical Vigila dinner begins with antipasti of different fish dishes such as smoked salmon, lumache (snails in a tomato sauce), seafood and marinated anchovies.[...]

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What to do and eat in the Piceno area around of Montefiore dell’Aso during the Christmas Festivities

Still haven’t started Christmas shopping, or stressing about what to buy that one difficult relative? Worry no more. We have rounded up suggestions of Le Marche-themed gifts for everyone on your list. The Piceno Area around Montefiore dell’Aso in southern Le Marche, is an undiscovered gem also because the wonderful shopping here.

Although mountains are always moving imperceptibly, what happens in a national mountain park -- when the earth moves under your feet? The series of earthquakes in Central Italy beginning in August 20

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

Le Marche: Earthquakes In Italy's Mountains

HIGHLIGHT: <<Is there truth in the old saying "All publicity is good publicity?" Many foreign visitors contacted the park expressing condolences and saying they plan to return. The park is unique is offering a sensation of a particularly high level of undisturbed nature with profound diversity of landscapes within its 692 square kilometres.>>

An earthquake of magnitude of 6.6 struck central Italy during the early hours of 30 October 2016. Some roads in the areas affected by strong or very strong tremors have been damaged or are being reserved for emergency vehicles. Before travelling to the affected areas, you should contact the relevant authorities in the Marche or Umbria regions and follow local advice. For more about what to do before, during, and after an earthquake visit the Italian Civil Protection website. See Natural Disasters

On 27 October 2016 there were 2 earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and 6.1 near Visso in Macerata province in central Italy. Emergency teams are present and there are reports of extensive damage and road closures. Before travelling to the region, check local news reports and the Italian Civil Protection website for more information and advice.

On August 24th, the world looked on in horror as images came in from central Italy in the aftermath of a dreadful earthquake. It was the second major seismic shock to hit the region in the last decade, and repair and recovery efforts have been hindered by ongoing aftershocks. The damage to the region has…

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Macerata, Le MarcheAt the epicentre of several of the major aftershocks, the medieval hill town of Macerata suffered damage which has meant the closing of several churches and other public buildings. Nonetheless, life goes on inside the old walls, home to a 13th century university and the early 19th century neo-classical open-air Arena Sferisterio, which hosts an opera festival every summer.

Urbino, Le MarcheUp in the hills of Le Marche, Urbino is all too often overlooked by visitors to Italy, perhaps because of its slightly isolated location. The heart of the city, dominated by the Palazzo Ducale and Duomo, was all constructed in the same style, making it appear as one contiguous block. The city is particularly famous for its contribution to the arts, as the home of the Renaissance maestro Raphael, to whom there is a dedicated museum in the house of his birth. Head up to the Giardini Pubblici for a wonderful view over the whole city from above.

Ascoli Piceno, Le MarcheThis town on the Marche/Abruzzo border is most famous for its olive production, and for the “olive all’ascolana” dish; olives stuffed with meat and fried in breadcrumbs. Piazza dell’Arengo, in the centre of town, is faced onto by the 12th-century Palazzo dell’Arengo, as well as the Duomo. The skyline is dotted with towers constructed over the centuries, around 50 according to some estimates.

Where to celebrate New Year's Eve? In a square or in a villa? Visit Le Marche: events and shows to enjoy the New Year with friends and relatives.

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

New Year's Eve in Le Marche: No Marche, No Party

Highlight:

"Starting from South of Le Marche, in the charming and ancient village of Grottammare you can join the gala dinner and the so called ‘ballo del cappello’ (hat dance). In San Benedetto del Tronto, there’s the event ‘Pala Natale‘ with concerts, shows and games for kids. Ascoli Piceno celebrates the New Year’s Eve in the square, with shows and music entertainment. Even in Fermo, Recanati, Macerata, Civitanova Marche, Porto San Giorgio and Porto Sant’Elpidio there are concerts and many other events not to be missed! Those ones who love night life can opt for the discos of the Riviera delle Palme, where dinners and theme parties are organised. Moving along the coast, there’s Ancona the capital city of Le Marche region."

As the earthquake-struck towns of central Italy begin work on reconstruction and recovery, one of the big worries is whether tourists will be scared away by the disasters.

The mountainous region is dependent on tourism, and is well known for its food, culture and natural beauty. [...]

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

After the earthquakes, why you should still visit Le Marche and central Italy

Highlight: "Between January and August this year, foreign visitors in Le Marche reached over 945,000; the region's best result in five years. But of the 180 'agritourism' businesses in the area, 120 are in the Macerata while a further 30 are located in Ascoli Piceno and Fermo; all three areas were badly affected by the tremblors."

In the weekends from end of November till the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Candelara hosts the marked of candles. Experience the light shows!

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

Have you have heard about a town that celebrates itself turning off all the electric lights and living the magic atmosphere of the candles? It could happen only in Le Marche.

Every year, Candelara starting from the end of November, the town illuminates the city streets of one of the 10 best Christmas Markets in Italy and by periodically closing all lamps in the evening and lighting candles instead. Search for your preferred handcrafted medieval-style candles, on sale at the market, for a unique gift to bring home!

A new study shows which of Italy's towns and cities are most 'liveable' in terms of the environment - and reveals a gulf between the north and south of the country.

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

The study revealed a huge divide between the north and south of the country. Macerata in central Italy was crowned as the most liveable city, but the rest of the top ten were all northern cities, other than Oristano in Sardinia....

Built atop hills for defensive purposes, surrounded by thick defensive walls, steep embankments, or cliffs, Italian hilltop settlements provided natural defenses for some of their early inhabitants, and today, they make for some of the best destinations to visit in Italy. In fact, these hilltop towns are so stunning, it’s hard to believe they’re real! [...]

Mariano Pallottini's insight:

Urbino among the Italy’s Most Stunning Hilltop Towns by tripstodiscover.com

Urbino is off the well beaten path, but it’s one of the most beautiful and romantic hilltop towns in the country. Located in the Marche region in central Italy, it’s set around a Renaissance palace and has historical significance as the birthplace of Raphael. Ducal Palace houses one of the most illustrious Renaissance art collections in all of Italy, and the entire town was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Be sure to visit the 17th-century Duomo and explore Raphael’s house, which is now a museum. When you need more energy, fuel up with an espresso at Caffe Basili, and then head to Albornoz Fortress at the top of the town to savor the amazing views of Urbino sprawled out below.

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